Applicator for applying pressure sensitive adhesive and other coating materials to sheet items

ABSTRACT

The present device provides a means for applying thin coatings of material to sheet items or webbing material. The invention will be described in connection with the application of a pressure-sensitive adhesive to sheet or webbing material, wherein the adhesive compound employs a solvent to keep it in a fluid state, thus enabling the adhesive to be worked without being heated. In accordance with the design principles of the present device, the adhesive mixture containing solvent is held in a reservoir and is kept from evaporating from said reservoir by employing a cover which seals the applicator member and hence the reservoir from the atmosphere which surrounds the housing, when there is no sheet material being processed. However the sealing cover is movably positioned away from the path along which the sheet or webbing material passes in contact with the applicator when the device is in use. In addition the path for the sheet material is arranged so that the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;adhesive side&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; of the sheet is facing up as the sheet material leaves the machine, thereby enabling the user to support or carry the sheet by coming in contact with the nonsticky undersurface.

United'States Patent [72] Inventor Philip E. Tobias 1872, Watson Road,Abington, Pa. 19001 [21] Appl. No. 780,985 [22] Filed Dec. 4,1968 [45]Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [54] APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING PRESSURE SENSITIVEADHESIVE AND OTHER COATING MATERIALS TO SHEET ITEMS 10 Claims, 4 DrawingFigs.

[52] US. Cl 118/2,

118/59, 118/245, 118/261 [51] Int. Cl B05c l/02,

B05c 11/16 [50] Field of Search 118/212, 246, 202, 41 1, 1, 2, 641,642,245, 261,59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,352,554 6/1944 Malhiot118/246 X 2,839,025 6/1958 Borke et al. 178/642 X 3,416,491 12/1968Tumbull et al. 118/41 MOTOR FROM SOLENOID Primary Examiner-John P.McIntosh Attorney-William E. Cleaver ABSTRACT: The present deviceprovides a means for applying thin coatings of material to sheet itemsor webbing material. The invention will be described in connection withthe application of a pressure-sensitive adhesive to sheet or webbingmaterial, wherein the adhesive compound employs a solvent to keep it ina fluid state, thus enabling the adhesive to be worked without beingheated. In accordance with the design principles of the present device,the adhesive mixture containing solvent is held in a reservoir and iskept from evaporating from said reservoir by employing a cover whichseals the applicator member and hence the reservoir from the atmospherewhich surrounds the housing, when there is no sheet material beingprocessed. However the sealing cover is movably positioned away from thepath along which the sheet or webbing material passes in contact withthe applicator when the device is in use. In addition the path for thesheet material is arranged so that the adhesive side of the-sheet isfacing up as the sheet material leaves the machine, thereby enabling theuser to support or carry the sheet by coming in contact with thenonsticky undersurface.

HEATEFlaPOWER SWITCH PATENTED SEP28l97l 3,608,515

sum 2 [IF 2 79 [MOTOR FROM 93 SOLENOID 77 Mo T oR I INVENTOR.

3 Philip E. Tobias ATTOR NEY.

BACKGROUND In the process of preparing or making up pages for newspapersor magazines from reproduction proofs (phototype or cold composition) itis desirable to have the reproduction proofs coated with apressure-sensitive adhesive on one side. A pressure-sensitive adhesivebeing an adhesive which will enable the material, to which it isapplied, to be secured or stuck to some second material in response tosimply pressing the adhesive-coated material against said secondmaterial. Masking tape which is commonly used by draftsmen is an exampleof a pressure-sensitive adhesive material. It follows that if thereproduction proofs have pressure-sensitive adhesive material formingtheir backing, the user is readily able to stick the proofs to themakeup sheet. If the makeup sheet is going to be photographed for futureuse in an offset printing process the foregoing procedure is verydesirable. The pressure-sensitive adhesive also enables the user toarrange the proofs and readily stick them on a makeup sheet for simplyshowing the printer how the printed sections are to be located in thefinal makeup. At the same time, if the user decides to shift or move thereproduction proofs to new locations it is a simple matter to lift saidproofs from the makeup sheet, relocate them and once again fix them bysimply pressing said proofs against the makeup sheet with fingerpressure. While the example of reproduction proofs has been given toillustrate the usefulness and desirability of, pressure-sensitiveadhesive, it should be understood that there are a number of other sheetor webbing items which can and have successfully employedpressure-sensitive adhesives in their use, for example: phototype in theform of positive or negative film, labels, paper and cardboard signs,hot metal pasteup, i.e., thin sheets of type metal or photoengravedmetal pasted down on a plastic sheet, and errata page insertions inprinted books and pamphlets.

In keeping with the prior art, pressure-sensitive adhesives have beensome form of wax material. Wax material has been satisfactory for someuses but is not satisfactory for other uses. For instance, if thereproduction proofs were to be used in making up a magazine page whichultimately would be photographed for an offset printing operation andthe reproduction proofs were relocated, there is usually a mark orblemish left by the wax which remains on the makeup sheet. Of coursewhen the blemish is created, the photograph of that makeup sheet picksup the blemish or the mark and the resulting offset plate likewise bearsthis infirmity, which results in the need for opaquing or the printingof an unsatisfactory magazine page. In addition, in order to apply waxto sheet means, the applicator must use a heater device of some kind tokeep the wax in a molten or fluid state. Since the wax applicator mustuse a heater, this system must be continually connected to an electricalpower source and power must be continually applied. The firstrequirement of course is a nuisance if the applicator is being used inan ordinary desk mode of operation and the second requirement, ofcourse, is a costly item. Further, in order to get wax to conform to asurface, the wax must be 0.002 to 0.003 inch thick. The paper is only onthe order of 0.004 to 0.005 inch thick. Accordingly, the wax surfacecreates shadows when the makeup sheet is photographed.

Another important factor is that the waxes used are not truly pressuresensitive. That is, adhesion must be obtained by bumishing the surfaceof the makeup sheet with a tool that applies relatively high localpressure to the material. This actually forces the wax to flow into thefibers of the makeup sheet, Without this flow condition the adhesion ofthe wax is negligible. lf bumishing is not done over the entire area,pieces may fall off the makeup sheet during handling, and bulges andlifted corners can result.

It the prior art, the wax applications were not designed with a greatdeal of human engineering consideration. By way of example, when areproduction proof or any other sheet or webbing material is coated witha glue (wax, etc.) it is desirable from the users standpoint, to be ableto handle the sheets without getting the hands sticky. Thisconsideration was not engineered into the prior art systems and when thesheet items left the applicators of the prior art, the user had togingerly grasp the sheets at the ends thereof and attempt to place them,or locate them, wherever they were to be positioned, without gettingmore than the thumb and the forefinger of each hand sticky. in additionthe wax melts under the heat of illumination thus enabling the proofs(or other placed items) to be shifted. Solvent based, pressure-sensitiveadhesives have been applied to plastic and paper tapes in a factoryenvironment. The solvent evaporation rate can be high in a factory butdue to the continuous nature of the coating process, makeup solvent maybe added during the coating run. In a factory operation, the viscosityof the adhesive is generally monitored frequently during the run. Theskills and attention required does not allow this technique as apractical approach for an ofi'rce environment, especially by peopleunskilled in coating technology, and for time-to-time, batch use.

In dealing with this problem, some use has been made of aerosol spraysof pressure-sensitive adhesives. This approach has the problems ofoverspray, nonuniform coating, clogging of the nozzle, stringing,clumping and relatively high cost.

SUMMARY The present device is an applicator for applying anysolventbased material such as pressure-sensitive adhesive material tosheet items or the like which can be readily used in an ordinary officesetting; which can be used by people unskilled in the coating art; whichcan be repeatedly used on a batch-by-batch basis; which does not requireany heating element; and which incorporates the human engineering aspectby providing an excursion path wherein the adhesive is applied on theupper side of the material as referenced to the position of the outputof the applicator. Accordingly, the user need only put his hands underthe dry side of the material as it leaves the applicator and by thenatural function of gravity the material will come to rest on the handswith the stick side up.

inasmuch as the present applicator provides an adhesive material whichdoes not necessitate a heater it does employ a solvent to keep theadhesive in a fluid state. The fluid state is necessary in order thatthe adhesive can be applied to the sheet material passing through theapplicator device. The solvent used in the preferred embodiment mustevaporate rapidly to the atmosphere surrounding the output path to giveconvenient drying times and leave the principal adhesive on thematerial. Since the solvent must be capable of evaporating rapidly,there is the problem that the solvent may continually and prematurelyevaporate while it is in the adhesive mixture. The present device has asealing cover means which covers and seals (when the machine is not isuse) the only portion of the machine which is exposed to the outside"atmosphere. Accordingly, the solvent in the reservoir is kept fromevaporating and the machine can stand for a long time, ready for use,without any prior heating, without after-use cleanup, and with theability to apply a pressure-sensitive adhesive or for that matter anyvolatile solvent-based coating material, to sheet or webbing materialpassed therethrough. However, when the machine is in use the sealingcover is automatically positioned out of the path of the sheet material.The features and objects of the present invention will become apparentwith the study of the following description made in conjunction with aconsideration of the figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial exploded schematic of the present device;

H6. 2. is a side view schematic of the present device when no sheetmaterial is being processed;

FlG. 3 is a side view schematic of the present device when sheetmaterial is being processed; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device.

Consider FIG. I which depicts an exploded pictorial of the presentdevice. In FIG. I there is shown a housing means 11 wherein there ismounted an applicator roller 13. The motor to drive the roller I3 is notshown in the pictorial. The reservoir 55 is filled or loaded withadhesive material through which the applicator I3 is passed in order tolift the adhesive material to the aperture 14 for ultimate applicationto sheet material. The reservoir is also not shown in detail in thepictorial, but will be schematically shown in other drawings. It shouldbe borne in mind that while the system is described with an adhesivematerial, it can be employed to coat items with lacquers, photosensitivematerials and the like. It should also be borne in mind that applicatorswhich are shaped other than in a roller form can be used. The reservoiris fed adhesive material from the container or bottle 15. It should beunderstood that the dimensions in the pictorial are not necessarily inaccordance with the actual device.

The adhesive material from the container 15 is transported to thereservoir through the double tubes 17 and it should be understood thatthe tubes 17 maintain the reservoir at a constant level. There are manyschemes, well known in the art, which act to keep a reservoir atconstant level. In the preferred embodiment the level control operationconsists of dual tube arrangement feeding into a pair of holes in theside of the reservoir. When the upper hole becomes exposed from thefluid, air is allowed to pass into the bottle I5 and accordingly the airdisplaces the fluid which is passed into the reservoir. This processcontinues until the upper hole is covered by the fluid and the systemautomatically stops. Although as stated above, there are other schemesfor keeping the fluid at a constant level. Also shown in the pictorialof FIG. I is a plurality of picker knives 19. The purpose of the pickerknives is to separate the sheet material or webbing material from theapplicator roller I3 when the material has had the adhesives appliedthereto. In other words, when the webbing material is transportedthrough the system, the applicator 13 is rolling from top to bottom, asdefined in Flg. 1 and as the sheet material clings to the roller it isseparated therefrom by the picker knives 19. The blade edges of thepicker knives are disposed tangential to the circumference of the roller13.

After the sheet material has been coated with the adhesive and istransported to the picker knives and separated from the applicator, thesheet material is then guided by the guide plate 21 to the output ledge23. As will become more meaningful from the FIGS. 2 and 3 when the sheetmaterial is transported along the guide plate 21 to the output ledge 23,the side with the adhesive thereon will be facing the housing means 11and accordingly will leave the output ledge 23 with the glue side up.

Also depicted in the pictorial of FIG. I is a spring device 25. Thespring device 25 matches the position of the microswitch arm 27, only aportion of which is seen in the pictorial of FIG. I. As will becomebetter understood hereinafter when a sheet item or webbing material isinserted into the machine, the spring 25 forces the sheet against themicroswitch arm 27 which thus causes the microswitch arm 27 to close amicroswitch (FIGS. 2 and 3) thereby turning on the mechanism to pull thecover (not described as yet) away from the applicator position andsimultaneously turn on the motor to cause the applicator to rotate.

While the preferred embodiment is described with an electric motor drivefor the applicator it should be understood that the applicator can berotated by hand and accordingly there is shown in phanthom a manual knob29 which can be used to rotate the applicator and move the cover if anelectric motor drive is not employed.

When the webbing material or sheet material has been inserted into themachine and the microswitch has been closed in response to themicroswitch arm 27 being moved, a solenoid in the machine, or themechanism to move the cover mechanically, pulls the frame consisting ofthe bars 31. and 33 toward the back end of the housing 35. In so doingthe cover means 37 is removed from its sealing position over theapplicator. The cover 37 is hollowed out so that it fits over theprotruding part of the rollers and the picker knives l9 and effects atight fit over the aperture 14. The edge of the cover 37 has a rubbergasket 39, or a gasket of some soft sealing material. In the pictorialFIG. 1, the gasket 39 is shown broken at position 41 to give the readera graphic indication that this is a soft sealing-type gasket.

Consider now FIG. 2 which is a schematic of the device and depicts inmore detail the elements of the invention. In FIG. 2 there is shown thehousing means 11 and the housing means 35. Also shown in FIG. 2 is theapplicator roller 13. It will be noted that the applicator roller 13 ordrum is shown rotating in a clockwise manner in FIG. 2. Accordingly, thedoctor blade 45 is located with its controlling edge 46 facing therotation of the applicator roller. The doctor blade can be adjusted bythe movement of the eccentric screw 47. When the eccentric screw 47 isrotated the doctor blade assembly 45 pivots around the bolt or shaft 49.

As the applicator roller is rotated by the motor 53 which ismechanically linked through a mechanical linkage 51, the surface of theapplicator roller passes through the reservoir 55 wherein there is helda supply of adhesive material 57.

In the preferred embodiment the adhesive material is apressure-sensitive material composed of rubber (or some elastomercompound), a tackifier (which is normally some resin such as rosin), asolvent (which is preferably volatile, noninflammable and of lowtoxicity such as methylchloroform, or less desirably hexane, toluene, ortrichlorethylene). In the preferred embodiment, I use 25 percent rubber,l2 percent tackifier and 63 percent solvent, although many combinationsof the three materials can be employed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the applicator roller is not beingrotated because there is no sheet material being transported through themachine. Now it should be understood that because the adhesive is keptin a fluid state by virtue of a solvent and the solvent is readilyevaporable, the opening of the housing 11 must be sealed. This isaccomplished by the cover means 37 with its gasket 39.

When the cover means 37 with the sealing gasket 39 is located as shownin FIG. 2, the housing and roller containing the adhesive material 57 iscompletely enclosed and hence the solvent does not evaporate" off.However the open space within the device itself is rich with a solventvapor and accordingly the picker knives are subjected to a self-cleaningaction. In other words, the solvent which is in the atmosphere that istrapped by the cover tends to keep the adhesive on the picker knivesliquid and helps to prevent a rapid buildup of adhesive materialthereon, by allowing drainage of the liquid adhesive back into thereservoir.

As is further depicted in FIG. 2, the input to the reservoir 55 (throughthe tube 17 of FIG. I) is the aperture 59. The control aperture 61 isshown in phanthom behind the applicator roller 13. In addition in FIG. 2there is depicted a roller 43 located below the picker knives I9. Theroller 43 has sharp, deep threads cut thereinto, so that if thedelivered sheet is pulled too vigorously by the machine user (as mayoften happen) it would come in contact with the small ridges or roller43, Le, without contacting or sticking to the lower part of the housing55.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is the guide plate 21 which is mounted by thebrackets 63 and 65 onto the side of the housing 35. The side of thehousing is obviously not shown. Further depicted in FIG. 2 is the spring25. When the sheet material is fed into the machine and the microswitcharm 27 is rotated slightly to close the microswitch 67, there iselectrical current passed from the electrical current source 69 (shownas a battery but which obviously could be another source of electricalcurrent) through the microswitch 67, initially through the capacitor 71,and under the steady state conditions through the resistor 73, throughthe solenoid 75, to the motor via the line 77, through the motor 53, toground potential 79 and back to the other side of the battery 69. Whilethe circuit depicted herein is shown as a series circuit obviously itcould be a parallel circuit. It becomes apparent with this electricalarrangement that when the microswitch 67 is closed the solenoid 75 isenergized and the motor 53 is turned on.

When the solenoid 75 becomes energized the movable core 31 is attractedor moved in a right-hand direction (as considered in the figure) therebypulling the bracket 31 therewith, When the bracket 31 is pulled, thecover plate 37 circumscribes a somewhat arcuate path to a position awayfrom the transport path of sheet material passing through the machine.It will be noted in the circuitry that there is second resistor 83. Thepurpose of the second resistor 83 is to provide a discharge path for theelectrical charge built up on capacitor 71 during the time that thesystem has been turned on and when the microswitch 27 opens, i.e., atthe end of a sheet passing therethrough, the charge which has been builtup on the capacitor 71 will commence to discharge through resistor 73,through the solenoid 75 and motor 53 to resistor 83 and the other sideof capacitor 71. The discharge action will continue to hold the solenoid75 energized and to keep the motor 53 in operation in accordance withthe RC time developed by the capacitor 71 and the resistors 73 and 83.This will enable the sheet material which is in the system to betransported out of the system before the cover 37 is relocated in itssealing" position. The hold circuit shown in FIG. 4 might be equally aswell employed.

Consider now FIG. 3 which is almost identical to FIG. 2 excepting thatthere is shown two pieces of webbing material, in particular the sheet85 and the sheet 87, being transported through the system. All of theidentification numbers found in FIG. 2 are also found in FIG. 3 and areapplied to the identical components.

It will be noted in FIG. 3 that when the sheet 85 is transrotated,thereby closing the microswitch 67. Accordingly, the sealing cover 73 isrotated slightly to the right defining the arcuate path shown by thedashed line 89. Now, as explained above, when the sheet 85 has passed bythe microswitch staported through the system the microswitch arm 27 isslightly 335 tion and the arm 27 moves to the left thereby opening the 1microswitch 67, the charge capacitor 71 will provide energy to thecircuit thereby keeping the motor 53 energized and the solenoid 75energized, so that the sheet 85 can be fully transported and have theadhesive applied thereto before the motor stops and the sealing coverreturns. It will be noted that the 4 sheet 87 has already had theadhesive applied thereto and is now leaving the output edge 23. Depictedin FIG. 3 is a human hand 91 which is lifting the sheet from the deviceand is not being subjected to the sticky side, since the adhesive islocated on the surface 93. Further shown in FIG. 3 is one of the pickerknives 19. The picker knives 19 cause the sheets to be separated fromthe roller 13, as is shown. Also in FIG. 3 there is depicted two guides24 and 26. These guides are located approximately 10 thicknesses ofpaper from roller 13 and act to keep the sheet against the roller 13. Italso should be understood that the housing 11 can be readily lifted fromthe machine so that the picker knives and other'parts of the device canbe serviced and cleaned. When the housing 11 is removed from the deviceit is lifted at the separation position better depicted in FIG. 1 by theline 101. The housing element 11, along the edge depicted by the line101, has a gasket means so that there is a good seal effected when thehousing 11 is jointed with the reservoir 55.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment wherein two rollers are used, instead ofone roller and a doctor blade..The identification numerals in FIG. 4 arethe same as the identification numerals in FIGS. 2 and 3 whereverpossible. The operation of the device of FIG. 4 is similar to that ofthe device of FIGS. 2 and 3 excepting in three aspects.

In FIG. 4 the roller 14 is mechanically linked to the motor 53. Theroller 14 is rotated as shown by the arrow and accordinglypasses throughthe reservoir 55 of adhesive material 57. The adhesive material 57 islifted by the roller 14 and is squeezed by the roller 13 to becomedeposited on the roller 13. It will be noted that roller 13 ismechanically linked to the roller 14 so that the motor 53 drives both.The clearance between the rollers 14 and 13 determines the thickness ofthe adhesive layer on roller 13, just as did the doctor blade 45 inFIGS. 2 and 3.

In addition in FIG. 4 there is shown a hold switch circuit 68 which canbe a light beam, a fluidic device using air to build back pressure or amechanical device. When a sheet is moved past the switch 68 the switchis closed so that when switch 69 opens, the motor 53 and solenoid 75remain energized until the sheet has moved beyond the hold station.

Also shown in FIG. 4 is a heating element 78 which is supplied powerfrom a power source in the heater power and switch device 80. Actuallyin block 80 there is a relay which is energized by the circuit whichenergizes the solenoid 75 and the motor 53. The relay points of saidrelay close a circuit for the power which is transmitted on the lines 82to furnish power to the heater 78. When the heater 78 is energized itfurnishes heat to drive off the solvent of the adhesive material as theadhesive-coated sheet passes by. The foregoing action renders theadhesive less tacky to the touch when the sheet leaves the machine (butnonetheless tacky in response to pressure).

By employing an adhesive which is composed primarily of a rubber base, atackifier and a solvent (which was described earlier), the sheetmaterial can be coated and the solvent will readily evaporate (evenwithout heater 78) as it passes along the guide plate 21 so that by thetime it is in a position shown by the sheet element 87 the adhesive isno longer in a fluid condition but is in a tacky condition. Thereafterthe adhesive stays in this tacky state and enables the items to which itis applied to be arranged on a makeup sheet. In addition if the galleyproof (or whatever the sheet material might be) needs to be relocated,it can simply be removed and positioned into a new location and pressedinto position by the pressure of a human thumb or forefinger.

The present device has the advantage of being readily available at alltimes since there is no heating necessary to heat up wax. In a preferredembodiment the device is shown as being electrically motor driven andhaving the sealing cover electrically activated. Of course such anarrangement would necessitate having it wire connected to an electricaloutlet. On the other hand, as was explained with respect to FIG. I,there can be a mechanical operation of both the applicator roll and thesealing cover by having the sealing cover linked through a series ofconnecting bars and gears to the manual knob 24.

Since the present device does not rely upon a heater to keep wax in amoltent stage but instead on a solvent to keep the adhesive in a liquidstate and therefore applicable to sheet material, the sealing cover 37with the sealing gasket 39. is quite necessary to keep the solvent fromevaporating out of the reservoir.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for applying coating material, which is held as a softmaterial, to items such as webbing material comprising in combination:

a. reservoir means;

b. coating material disposed in said reservoir means;

c. application means mounted to move in contact with said coatingmaterial and formed to lift a thin layer of said coating material on itssurface from said reservoir and move said thin layer of coating materialinto contact with said items such as webbing material which are to becoated;

. housing means covering said reservoir with said adhesive materialtherein and said applicator means whereby said reservoir with saidcoating material therein and said applicator means are heldsubstantially free from contact with the atmosphere;

. aperture means formed in said housing means to permit said applicatormeans to protrude therefrom to come in contact wit said items such aswebbing material upon which said coating material is to be coated; and

f. sealing cover means movably mounted in proximity to said aperture sothat when said sealing cover means is in a first position said apertureis sealed from the surrounding atmosphere whereby said reservoir andsaid applicator are sealed from the surrounding atmosphere, said sealingmeans in said first position preventing said webbing material fromcoming in contact with said applicator means and whereby when saidsealing cover means is in said second position said aperture is exposedto said surrounding atmosphere, and said sealing means does not preventsaid webbing material from coming in contact with said applicator means.2. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 whereinsaid coating material is an adhesive material including an evaporablesolvent.

3. A device for applying coating material according to claim 2 whereinthere is included heater means disposed in proximity to said sheettransport means to drive off an evaporable material in said coatingmaterial.

4. A device for applying coating material according to claim 3 whereinthere is further included electrical switching means which operates inresponse to sheet material passing through said transport means so as toautomatically move said sealing cover to said second position.

5. A device for applying coating material according to claim 4 whereinsaid electrical circuitry means includes means to provide electricalenergy so that said sealing cover is held in said second position untilafter said sheet means which initiated said action has been transportedthrough said device.

6. A device for applying coating material, according to claim 1 whereinthere is further included picker knife means mounted within said housingmeans and disposed to protrude from said aperture whereby when saidapplicator means is in contact with webbing material said picker knifemeans serves to separate said webbing material from said applicatormeans.

7. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1wherein there is further included a doctor blade means disposed in closeproximity to said applicator means whereby said doctor blade meansdetermined the thickness of the layer of adhesive means which saidapplicator means is lifting on its surface.

8. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 1wherein there is further included a sheet transport means formed to passsheet material in close proximity to said applicator means when saidsealing means is in said second position so that said sheet materialcomes in contact with said applicator means and further formed so thatthe side of said sheet material which does not come in contact with saidapplicator means leaves said transport means facing away from the baseof said housing means whereby said sheet material can be handled withouthaving the handler become sticky.

9. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 whereinsaid applicator means is a roller which is mounted on a rotatably shaftan wherein there is included means to rotate said shaft.

10. A device for applying coating material in accordance with claim 9wherein there is further included mechanical means to move said sealingcover simultaneously with the rotation of said shaft upon which saidroller is mounted.

2. A device for applying coating material according to claim 1 whereinsaid coating material is an adhesive material including an evaporablesolvent.
 3. A device for applying coating material according to claim 2wherein there is included heater means disposed in proximity to saidsheet transport means to drive off an evaporaBle material in saidcoating material.
 4. A device for applying coating material according toclaim 3 wherein there is further included electrical switching meanswhich operates in response to sheet material passing through saidtransport means so as to automatically move said sealing cover to saidsecond position.
 5. A device for applying coating material according toclaim 4 wherein said electrical circuitry means includes means toprovide electrical energy so that said sealing cover is held in saidsecond position until after said sheet means which initiated said actionhas been transported through said device.
 6. A device for applyingcoating material, according to claim 1 wherein there is further includedpicker knife means mounted within said housing means and disposed toprotrude from said aperture whereby when said applicator means is incontact with webbing material said picker knife means serves to separatesaid webbing material from said applicator means.
 7. A device forapplying coating material in accordance with claim 1 wherein there isfurther included a doctor blade means disposed in close proximity tosaid applicator means whereby said doctor blade means determines thethickness of the layer of adhesive means which said applicator means islifting on its surface.
 8. A device for applying coating material inaccordance with claim 1 wherein there is further included a sheettransport means formed to pass sheet material in close proximity to saidapplicator means when said sealing means is in said second position sothat said sheet material comes in contact with said applicator means andfurther formed so that the side of said sheet material which does notcome in contact with said applicator means leaves said transport meansfacing away from the base of said housing means whereby said sheetmaterial can be handled without having the handler become sticky.
 9. Adevice for applying coating material according to claim 1 wherein saidapplicator means is a roller which is mounted on a rotatable shaft andwherein there is included means to rotate said shaft.
 10. A device forapplying coating material in accordance with claim 9 wherein there isfurther included mechanical means to move said sealing coversimultaneously with the rotation of said shaft upon which said roller ismounted.